Mayor Landrieu asks citizens "Are You Ready?" as City launches new hurricane and disaster preparedness initiative

May 31, 2012

NEW ORLEANS, LA – Today, Mayor Mitch Landrieu announced the launch of ready.nola.gov, a critical new City resource providing citizens a single-source information destination to prepare for hurricane season. The new website features a suite of upgraded, world-class technology that will directly impact the safety and lives of every New Orleans citizen.

"Successful evacuations and preparation drives successful response and recovery,” said Mayor Landrieu. “We must be ready – ready to protect our family, our homes, our businesses, our neighbors, and our loved ones. Preparedness must start with each and every one of us who live in and love New Orleans. Our team works 365 days a year to ensure our city government is prepared and ready for any kind of disaster. But we cannot do this alone. Ready.nola.gov is our call to action. We must all work together to get NOLA ready.”

The City’s “Are You Ready?” campaign housed at ready.nola.gov will ask citizens to get personally prepared by offering critical step-by-step information needed to get individuals and their families, homes, businesses and loved ones prepared for hurricane season, as well as disasters and emergencies of all kinds. Information includes supplies citizens should have on hand, how to form an emergency plan, what to include in an emergency kit and to-go bag, how to get out of town, resources for pet-owners and business owners, including the placard re-entry system, and the City’s cornerstone of commitment, the NOLA Ready pledge, which citizens can sign after they have made a plan for themselves and their families. Businesses are encouraged to register now in order to apply for re-entry status and receive 2012 re-entry placards.

Landrieu continued, “Are YOU ready? Is your family? Your home? Your business? Your children? The time is now. We’ve got to get NOLA ready. So go to ready.nola.gov. Make a plan. Pack an emergency kit. Know how you’ll protect yourself and your loved ones if you are stuck in your home without power or water, or if you have to evacuate. And when you are prepared, I ask each and every one of you to show your fellow New Orleanians and those across the country and the world that New Orleans refuses to be complacent: to join me in signing the NOLA Ready Pledge. Let’s let the world know: New Orleans citizens are ready and together we are prepared to thrive and survive.”

The new “Are You Ready?” public preparedness campaign and the creation of ready.nola.gov puts New Orleans at the forefront of disaster preparedness.

“We saw a vital need for accessible information for our citizens, and a vital need to remind people that part of living in New Orleans is being ready when disaster strikes,” said Lt. Col. Jerry Sneed , Deputy Mayor of Public Safety.

In addition to general preparedness information, in the case of any emergency, citizens will be able to get immediate, accurate information updates on ready.nola.gov, as well as through its NOLA Ready emergency alert system, and through social media, including on Facebook and through the @NOLAReady Twitter account.

Ready.nola.gov will also house major City emergency technology upgrades, including an upgraded City-wide emergency alert system that will be launched in coming days, and a new City Assisted Evacuation form.

“We want to emphasize that any citizen who needs assistance during a mandatory evacuation, particularly with medical needs, must register for City Assistance, either on ready.nola.gov or by calling 311,” said Deputy Mayor Sneed. “Working together now, we will make NOLA ready for whatever the future may bring.”